Brief Summary of “Is College Worth It?”
Training is Worthwhile for Higher Pay
Training, according to David Leonhardt, is worthwhile because those who have completed college are better paid in the industry than those with lower credentials.
Despite the difficulties that recent college graduates face in finding employment, paying off mortgages, and taking jobs that need lower credentials, college is still extremely important. First, the salary of a four-year college graduate has risen in recent years as compared to that of a high school graduate, according to a study of Labor Department data conducted by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington (Leonhardt 33). The study outcome indicated that graduates who studied four years in college were paid 98% more an hour than their high school and college counterparts. The gap increased by 89% over a period of five years and 85% in comparison to the early 1980s.
The Value of a College Degree
From the study, one can deduce that college degree is highly valuable in terms of financial reward and that its worth has increased over the years as seen from continued growth in the amount of college student. This growth is predicted to continue as the economy develops into a further technologically multifaceted model which may result in a student taking 15 years or 17 years of education to ensure a universal goal (Leonhardt 33).
The Relationship Between College Graduates and Pay Gap
David Leonhardt predicted relationship like demand and supply between the college graduate and pay gap in the economy. He noted that an increase in the supply of college graduate will cause a decree in the pay gap, however, David Autor said that college graduates are few and people who are prepared for college education are insufficient hence the gap may still remain. Contrary to this gap in the college education there seems to be a sinister motive by the media experts and journalist inclined at discouraging young teenagers and some adults from pursuing college education (Leonhardt 34).
The increase in inequality and reduction in economic growth may reduce the value of bachelor’s degree, Dr. Autor asserted that the real value of bachelor’s degree is negative $500,000 while the cost of not going to college is equivalent to half a million dollar. Therefore, graduating from college tend to be much cheaper since individuals who do not attend college lost more than half a million dollars (Leonhardt 34). Actually, the stated value of college is three times higher than what it was two decades ago, this implies that its value increases over time.
Jobless Rates and the Worthiness of College Education
There are always alarming stories on jobless, indebted college graduate from the conventional wisdom which often overstate the problem, precisely the average loan debt among college graduate is $25,000 which is a small fraction of the economic worthiness of college. Also, the rate of joblessness for people between 25 and 34 years old having bachelor’s degree was a meager 3%. The worthiness of college education can be seen from the average growth in hourly wage by 1% over a period of 10 years which translate to circa $32.6 (Leonhardt 35).
Considering Other Factors for Raising Living Standards
Even though education is a good solution to an economic problem of any country, there is always a need to thinks of other factors which could be used to lift the living standards of the individuals who do not have college degrees even when the college education is known as the most reliable means to middle class and beyond.
Few decades, high school was considered the most valued education level to an extent that Americans from modest background did not comprehend the need to spend four years in high school, yet today this notion is indisputable as the economy become more technologically complex hence the point has already arrived (Leonhardt 35).
Works Cited
Leonhardt, David. “Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say.” Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology, edited by Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017, pp.33-35
Academic levels
Skills
Paper formats
Urgency types
Assignment types
Prices that are easy on your wallet
Our experts are ready to do an excellent job starting at $14.99 per page
We at GrabMyEssay.com
work according to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which means you have the control over your personal data. All payment transactions go through a secure online payment system, thus your Billing information is not stored, saved or available to the Company in any way. Additionally, we guarantee confidentiality and anonymity all throughout your cooperation with our Company.